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Design and Features
The UZ2315H uses the same matte-black-and-brushed-silver-trim motif found on previous UltraSharp models such as the Dell UltraSharp U2713HM and the Dell UltraSharp 32 Ultra HD UP3214Q. The 1-inch bezels are relatively thick, and the speaker enclosure attached to the bottom bezel adds an additional three-quarters-of-an-inch. The cabinet measures 1.7 inches thick and has a curved back panel containing four VESA-compliant mounting holes. The 1,920-by-1,080 panel has a matte coating that reduces glare and is non-reflective. While pleasant-looking, this monitor doesn't offer the sleek aesthetics of the AOC i2473PWM.

The brushed silver stand has a hinge that allows you to pivot the panel 90 degrees for Portrait-mode viewing, and it has a 26-degree tilt range. The hinge slides up and down the mounting arm for a total height adjustment of 4.9 inches, and the arm has a 90-degree swivel range. Behind the aforementioned speaker enclosure are two 3-watt speakers that are strong and can be cranked up without fear of distortion. Quality-wise, they're a notch above most monitor speakers, but not nearly as powerful as the AOC i2373PWM's 7-watt speakers. That said, they are more than adequate for listening to low to mid-volume music, movie soundtracks, and video conferencing dialog, courtesy of the 2-Megapixel webcam and dual digital microphone array embedded in the upper bezel.

There are plenty of I/O ports to be found at the rear of the cabinet, including two HDMI inputs with Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) support that lets you charge and view content from compatible mobile devices. There are also DisplayPort and VGA inputs, a USB 3.0 upstream port, and two USB 3.0 downstream ports. Conveniently located on the left side of the cabinet is a combination headphone-out/microphone-in jack.

Picture settings are relatively basic. You can adjust Brightness, Contrast, and Preset Modes, which includes Standard, Multimedia, Movie, Game, Paper, Color Temperature, and Custom Color with red, green, and blue adjustments. Display settings include Aspect Ratio, Sharpness, and Overdrive. The Overdrive setting is supposed to reduce motion blur by speeding up pixel response, but I saw no difference in performance when it was enabled.

Dell covers the UZ2315H with a three-year warranty for parts, labor, and backlighting. The monitor comes with HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB cables, a quick-setup guide, and a resource CD with drivers and documentation.

Performance
The UZ2315H's IPS panel delivered rich, accurate colors out of the box. As illustrated on the chromaticity chart below, red, green, and blue colors (represented by the colored dots) are all closely aligned with their ideal CIE coordinates (represented by the boxes). In comparison, the AOC i2473PWM produces mostly accurate colors, but its green coordinates are slightly off.

The panel did a fine job of displaying mid and dark shades of gray from the DisplayMate 64-Step Gray-Scale test, but had trouble with the two lightest shades, which were identical (each shade should gradually transition toward white). This is known as clipping, and in many cases will result in a noticeable loss of highlight detail. In this case, I noticed a slight washout in the highlights of my test images, but the effect was minor. The panel also did a great job of displaying small text from our DisplayMate Scaled Fonts test.

With an 8-millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response, the UZ23315H isn't the best choice for discerning gamers. Some motion blur was apparent while playing Aliens vs. Predator on the PC. Motion artifacts were also noticeable while playing Burnout Paradise on the Sony PlayStation 3 console; as mentioned above, the Overdrive setting did nothing to minimize the blurring. On the plus side, input lag (the time it takes for the panel to react to a command from a controller or keyboard) was minimal, measuring a very acceptable 12.1 milliseconds on the Leo Bodnar Lag Tester.

Power consumption is in line with other similarly sized monitors we've tested. The UZ2315H used 18 watts of power during testing while set to the Standard preset, and results were the same when using the MultiMedia preset. The AOC E2460SD-TAA also used 18 watts, while the NEC MultiSync E232WMT consumed 21 watts.

Conclusion
With the Dell UltraSharp UZ2315H, you don't get the pleasing aesthetics and high-quality audio output that you get with the AOC i2473PWM, but it matches the AOC in terms of performance and offers more features, including a high-speed USB hub, a webcam, a DisplayPort input, and a highly adjustable stand. Its light gray-scale performance could be better, and its slow pixel response isn't well suited to gaming, but neither issue prevents the UZ2315H from becoming our newest Editors' Choice for midsize, midrange monitors.

As a Contributing Editor for PC Magazine, John Delaney has been testing and reviewing monitors, HDTVs, PCs, servers, and other assorted hardware and peripherals for more than 14 years. A 13-year veteran of PC Magazine's...

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